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<title>But you don't really care for music, do ya? by fanfics_she_wrote, iSpitonFire</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29865429">But you don't really care for music, do ya?</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/fanfics_she_wrote/pseuds/fanfics_she_wrote'>fanfics_she_wrote</a>, <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/iSpitonFire/pseuds/iSpitonFire'>iSpitonFire</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Julie and The Phantoms (TV 2020)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Angst with a Happy Ending, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Grief/Mourning, Hatred, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slow To Update, The Author Regrets Nothing, after all our plans indicate more, background willex, he was a ghost she was a teen what more can i say, jk theres some fluff in there, jukebox whats in the box, okay lies we chose violence many days ago and in the future, the angst the whole angst and nothing but the angst, there is hatred in the box but also love, they're soulmates but they refuse to admit it, we woke up today and chose violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 01:15:25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,416</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29865429</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/fanfics_she_wrote/pseuds/fanfics_she_wrote, https://archiveofourown.org/users/iSpitonFire/pseuds/iSpitonFire</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A whole story can become something new with one simple little change. One bad hot dog instead of three and three live instead of one. Now, imagine this slight change in a world where the skater was born later, the darkroom never happened, and the manipulation of the lone member of Sunset Curve was slightly...different. </p><p>Alone, lost, and dead, unable to interact with those that he loved with his whole soul or do the one thing he believed to do, left the lone member despondent. When offered the chance to play and be heard and be a musician to people again, well, of course he took it. He just didn’t realize that by selling his soul he was losing himself.</p><p>Fate plays by its own rules and magic has its own agenda. Will the story stay the same in the end or will it be darker, more twisted, and less cheerful? Will those who lived get a happy ending or were they always destined to be ghosts? Was Julie always magic or just a girl who needed a little push? And was this push always kind and good, or is sometimes darker and less pure? </p><p>Either way, only time will tell. And time is never as long as we hope it to be.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Julie Molina/Luke Patterson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>53</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Happy Birthday, Sunset Curve!</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <h4>
  <b> <em>Lyricall -- Happy Birthday Sunset Curve</em> </b>
</h4><h2>
  <em> Sunset Curve debut reaches 4.7 billion total streams for twenty-fifth anniversary </em>
</h2><h3>
  <em> Saturday, October 17, 2020 </em>
</h3><p>
  
</p>
<h6>
<em>Sunset Curve's debut album.</em><br/>
<em>Image credits: Sunset Curve Official</em>
</h6><p>Lyricall’s favourite rock band, Sunset Curve, turned twenty-five years old on Thursday and is <em> still </em> gaining new fans as we speak. In true tradition, the band’s debut album, <em> My Name Is Luke </em>, received thousands of streams from fans over the globe over the past week, both to celebrate the band’s quarter-century reign and to remember their fallen bandmate.</p><p>Those of you who are new to Sunset Curve, you might know all the words to some of their biggest hits but I’ll bet you don’t know Sunset Curve’s history. If you’re a diehard fan like most of us here at Lyricall, then you probably know all about Bobby Wilson, Reggie Peters, and Alex Mercer. But what do you know about the fourth Sunset Curve bandmate, Luke Patterson? </p><p>At the ripe young age of seventeen, Patterson was meant to debut at the Orpheum with Wilson, Peters, and Mercer on May 15th twenty-five years ago, but the stroke of horrid luck that put Peters and Mercer in the hospital for a week tragically cut Patterson’s life short. A bandmate, friend, and brother down, Sunset Curve seemed to fall apart at the seams but three months later, the band was back on track and ready to rock on in Patterson’s memory. I’ll bet the debut album’s title is starting to make a little more sense now, isn’t it?</p><p>Sunset Curve’s debut album has managed to keep Patterson’s voice alive even twenty-five years post mortem and we thank them greatly for it. The world would be a lot duller without their music and so, from all of us here at Lyricall, we would like to wish Sunset Curve a very happy birthday and we send our deepest condolences to Patterson’s family.</p>
<hr/><p>
  
</p>
<h6>
  <em> Left to right: Bobby Wilson, Luke Patterson, Reggie Peters, Alex Mercer.<br/>
Date: May 15, 1995<br/>
Image credits: Sunset Curve Official </em>
</h6><p>
  
</p>
<h6>
<em>Patterson during the band's soundcheck.</em><br/>
<em>Date: May 15, 1995</em><br/>
<em>Image credits: Sunset Curve Official</em>
</h6>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>;D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. I'm not moving on</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Julie wanted her mom not a pretty face with a bad attitude</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Julie sagged against the garage doors. Her body slightly trembled as she shut her eyes to hide from the pain. She hadn’t been to the garage in months, but when her uncle ran from the house to go help stop her </span>
  <em>
    <span>other</span>
  </em>
  <span> uncle from punching a doctor because they wanted- </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She just really wanted her mom. This was the closest thing she had left.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With a big deep breath, Julie opened her eyes, and tears started pouring. The studio looked so lifeless. Back when her mom had first gotten sick, her uncles would sometimes come out here to play music, but then Willie got hit by a car and her mom died. All of it was so quick that she barely had any chance to process the whirlwind that was uprooting everything. Between Willie’s accident and her mom’s death, her Uncle Alex had become a hollow version of himself. Still, even then, Julie would drift towards the studio almost like she was trying to find her mom for a hug or solace. But without her mom . . . It just felt so wrong to be in there alone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>In the silence.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It felt like a mausoleum. A true tribute to the dearly departed who both had enough passion in their souls and musical talent to fuel the world for eternity.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Julie shook her head a little and slowly walked to the piano. She stopped in front of the piano and reached a hand out, as if preparing to pull the sheet off. Julie aside, no one else knew how to play it and because she couldn’t bring herself to, the instrument had been covered up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She clenched her fist and spun away from the piano. Flopping on the couch she pulled the blanket on her until she was fully covered, thankful someone left the weighted blanket out there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, mom,” Julie whispered, eyes shut. “Sorry I haven’t been out here in a while. It hasn’t felt right to be out here without you or your boys. Reggie and Tía have been making sure we are eating. Dad tries, but Tía knows he will only make spaghetti if left alone and I think it makes Reggie feel better making sure everyone is fed. He knows we at least will eat it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She shifted uneasily at the slightly bitter tone at the end before flopping on her back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh. let’s see. Carrie is still acting weird to the point where me and Flynn have stopped talking to her. Dad and sometimes Reggie are going to all Carlos’s games.” She giggles a little. “Reggie has practically moved into the guest bedroom, you remember actually, and I swear he spends more time here than at his apartment. Which is good because dad keeps losing more stuff than normal and he finds it for him, it's just that it’s gotten so bad that Tía thinks Mrs. Hackner from down the street thinks dad and Reggie are a thing. She keeps giving them the stink eye and muttering how it wasn’t right. And we know she isn’t homophobic because --”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Julie flopped over and pulled the blanket over her head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Willie still doesn’t have enough brain activity. I think the doctors are telling Alex to take him off life support again. We can’t.” Julie sniffed. “We can’t lose another person. Not now. Not after you and Luke. It’s bad enough Willie got hit the day you died, Luke, and we lost mom not long after but. But we just </span>
  <em>
    <span>can’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> not </span>
  <em>
    <span>now</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Angrily she threw the blanket off of her and sat up. Wiping tears off her face, she stormed to the CD player. There was only ever one CD in there these days as no one wanted to take </span>
  <em>
    <span>My Name is Luke</span>
  </em>
  <span> out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They keep that in there ready to play because even 25 years later they can’t handle your death, Luke, and Willie going into the coma and then mom. No, they would break and it’s already painful enough without mom but without </span>
  <em>
    <span>Willie</span>
  </em>
  <span> and if Alex stays like this and. Sunset Curve already feels like a ghost band. If we lose him too, then the band is gone. And I can’t lose them too. So, if you could stop haunting them that would be great.” She smashed the play button and stomped back to the couch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Julie knew every track by heart. She knew all the words to every song. These days, it seemed to ground her.</span>
</p><p><span>“I just --” </span><span>Julie gave a frustrated growl as the bonus track started up, Luke’s voice filling the studio. They never played anything else. The track was even always set to loop because hearing Luke sometimes made missing him easier. She wanted to kick something. Instead, she yanked the blanket over her head and screamed,</span> <span>“I just wish people would stop leaving! I just wish our family could be whole again!”</span></p><p>
  <span>Suddenly the blanket felt too heavy, the air too thick, and the world too blurred. Julie only realised she was crying when the first few tears rolled down her cheeks. She wiped at them angrily. She didn’t want to be sad anymore. She just wanted to be okay again. “I wish you were here,” she whispered to herself, curling into a ball under the blanket. She didn’t know if she wanted Willie to wake up, her mom to come back, or to finally meet the boy whose voice had once been her lullabies. Maybe all three? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Did it matter at this point? It would always be impossible as two were dead and one might as well be.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who are you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Julie looked up sharply. The voice sounded distant and somewhat like cold metal. “What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I said, who are you? And you know what, what the hell are you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She carefully removed the blanket from her face. In front of her was a boy that looked young and vibrant, but whose eyes were almost soulless. The look he gave her, those soulless eyes, flat stare, and almost mean sneer, would play a role in many of her nightmares. When Julie still didn’t respond, he scoffed and turned away, taking the studio in. “Have I been here before?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How should I know?” Julie snapped, suddenly aware that a stranger stood in the studio, asking her questions as if she were the intruder. “I’ve never even met you before. Who are </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span>, anyway? And how did you get here? I didn’t hear the door open.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I feel like I know you</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Julie scowled, ignoring the little voice in her head. Lots of people sounded like other people. It didn’t have to mean anything. It never meant anything. And so what if he was cute and looked familiar. She knows she has never seen such an emo show boy before.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think I have,” the boy said, narrowing his eyes. The air got more electric and tense as his face got stormier.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Julie huffed, unamused. “Hey, I’m talking to you. Who are you and what do you want?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I asked you first,” he said quickly, rounding on Julie without warning. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The flash of something dangerous in his eyes didn’t deter Julie from standing up and narrowing her eyes right back. “I live here. You’re in </span>
  <em>
    <span>my</span>
  </em>
  <span> house. And I want you </span>
  <em>
    <span>out</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I lived here first,” he hissed, leering at her. He drew back sharply as if he hadn’t even meant to respond. Or didn’t realize the implications of his own words until he said it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” he mimicked, a bit weakly before starting stronger. “You’re not the first person to have lived here.” He lifted his head higher and looked away from her.</span>
</p><p><span>She rolled her eyes. “No, but I’ve lived here all my life and you don’t look much older than me so when were </span><em><span>you</span></em> <em><span>living here</span></em><span>?” </span><em><span>Dumbass</span></em><span>, she thought. </span><em><span>I’ve caught him in his lies now</span></em><span>.</span></p><p>
  <span>“That’s none of your business,” he said, turning away from Julie and wandering around the studio, seemingly aimlessly but to Julie, it looked more like he specifically went to the piano. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t touch that!” Julie shouted when he reached for the sheet over the piano, running to stop him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ignoring her, he muttered, “This is new,” before he pulled the sheet off, throwing it in her face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>While Julie was fighting with the sheets and trying to gather them up in her arms, the boy’s attention was focused on the sheets of paper that fluttered gently to the floor. Curiosity got the better of him, and after a quick glance to see Julie fussing over covering the piano up, he gathered the pages and studied them. Music notes and lyrics. A song.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t touch it,” Julie said again, softer, as she smoothed the sheet out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her voice made him jump before he realized she was talking about the piano.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She seemed to be using the piano as an excuse to avoid looking at him. “It was my mom’s.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Was?” he asked, eyes darting to the pages in his hand that she had yet to notice. When she looked up, he hid the papers behind his back. “Sorry,” he said, more like a guilty child than someone who cared.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She glared flatly at him. “Gee, thanks for the sympathy. You know this is breaking in.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not like I </span>
  <em>
    <span>want</span>
  </em>
  <span> to be in this hell hole.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Julie made an offended noise before pointing to the door. “Okay, then</span>
  <em>
    <span> leave!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe I will,” he hissed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stop copying me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Julie folded her arms, he did too. She grumbled something vicious under her breath that her dad or uncles probably would have been horrified to hear their little girl say, but it only made the boy laugh. Well, it wasn’t a kind laugh, really, more of a . . . nasty laugh.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What it, little girl,” he darkly sang.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She gave him a quick glance over. The black short-sleeved dress shirt, black worn-looking vest, and ripped black dress pants with the combat boots suddenly looked less ridiculous and more like a warning. She sighed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look, I don’t know who you are or why you’re here, but I just wanna sit alone in peace and listen to my CD and not be bothered by strangers so can you just . . . can you just leave? Please?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He gave her the kind of smile you give toddlers who are babbling on incomprehensibly. “Well, only because you asked so nicely!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Julie narrowed her eyes again. “I hate you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His smile became a little more...unhinged and fake. </span>
  <span>His soulless eyes looked even more dead. </span>
  <span>“You don’t even know me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And I don’t want to. Leave.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Julie pointed to the doors, again, so this time that’s where he turned. With his back to Julie, he tucked the pages into his jacket and held them there. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you know you have to actually walk in order to leave?” Julie asked when he didn’t move. “Or are you rude </span>
  <em>
    <span>and</span>
  </em>
  <span> a moron?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The look he gave her when he turned back around wasn’t any less unkind than the very first look he gave her, but he seemed to be amused with something. Julie didn’t like it. Whatever made him smile probably wasn’t a nice thing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Before I go,” he said, dragging the moment out, “my name is Luke.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then he was gone. Julie blinked a few times. Logic told her that he probably just walked really fast out the doors but she knew that wasn’t it. He really just poofed into thin air. Magic? Something else? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She sat back down and slowly, the sounds of the CD reached Julie again. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>My name is Luke</span>
  </em>
  <span>, the boy on the CD still sang, and Julie, who had been settling under her blanket again, shot up like a startled stoat. “Hey, wait a minute--!”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>🥰</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. You're alone, you're on your own</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>People deal with strange things differently. Some people try to block it away. Some people get angry. </p><p>Either way, it doesn't matter. They'll have to face it properly soon enough.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Julie shot up like a startled stoat, her blanket falling to the ground. “Hey, wait a minute--!” But it was too late. He was gone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She glared around the room before slowly inching to where he last was. She swished her arm in the spot, backed up a bit, and looked up for a camera, knowing she wouldn’t find one.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the fuck what the </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck</span>
  </em>
  <span> on a cheese stick?” she whispered to herself, before making a face at her own swear. Shaking her head she started to pace. “Ghosts aren’t real. There is no way </span>
  <em>
    <span>Luke Patterson</span>
  </em>
  <span> is a ghost and an angry one at that! Not possible. Not him not anyhow. I’m losing my mind.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She paused her pacing. “I have to be losing my mind. Luke Patterson is friendly, passionate, sweet, kind, and music-loving. That’s all he is. That’s what they said.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She turned around the studio, looking at each incidence of music. “Yeah this makes as much sense as Uncle Willie’s-” She stopped mid-sentence, all emotion quickly whipped from her face, clapped hands together, said, “No,” and left the studio.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>On her way back to the house, she passed Carlos and her dad, turned to them, and said, “No,” before carrying on into the house, up the stairs, into her room, and flopping onto her bed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She laid there for a good five minutes before flipping over and screaming, “WHAT THE FUDGE!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her dad burst into the room looking for intruders. When the only thing in sight was his daughter zoning out at the ceiling, he relaxed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Everything alright?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ray waited for her to say something else but slowly realized this might be all she had to say. “Okay...Senior is coming by later tonight. I’ll just send her or Victoria up later if you don’t come down.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.” Ray awkwardly clapped his hands together and took a step back. “I’ll just...go figure out dinner.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Julie sat up quickly, remembering. “Oh, Uncle Reggie went to stop Uncle Alex from fighting the doctors again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ray winced. “He called me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Julie deflated a little. “Ah.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ray hesitated. “Junior will be fine.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know. Uncle Willie will wake up soon,” she quoted from the number of times she heard it. “Just send Tía or Aunt Willie up when they get here.” She flopped down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ray mouthed okay before leaving.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Julie laid on her bed for only a few seconds longer, but it felt like ages. She could not get Luke’s furious expression out of her head. It wasn’t even that he was furious with her or anything. He just seemed so . . . angry. To Julie, it seemed like being angry was probably his natural and default state of being. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Who he was.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>It made no sense to her. Everything she had ever heard about Luke painted him as a rebellious but happy teen. The way her uncles talked about him made her wish she could’ve known him. His passion for music seeped out of their stories and fuelled her own. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It couldn’t be the same Luke that she had just met. It just couldn’t.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Julie sat up quickly. “Oh, great. Now I’m entertaining the idea of ghosts,” she said aloud, rolling her eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sighing again for what felt like the fifteenth time that hour alone, Julie glanced around her room aimlessly. Her gaze eventually settled on the chest beneath the vanity table -- specifically the orange beanie peeking out of the lid. She hopped off her bed and slid to the floor in front of the vanity, dragging the chest out by one of the handles. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It had belonged to her mom and held a lot of old things near and dear to Rose, but as Julie grew up, it became hers and she began to fill it with things near and dear to her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now, it held most of Luke’s old things and some of her mom’s old stuff that she had given or wanted Julie to have. If it wasn’t for that beanie, she might have never gotten the courage to open it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Slowly she started to sort out what was Luke’s and what was her mom’s, each piece had its own memory and before she was even halfway done, she was sobbing. Each memory held love and happiness, something her life was devoid of right now. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her mom was gone, her uncle was in a coma, and ghosts might be real, but instead of either of the two people she wanted to see she got stuck with knock-off Luke Patterson. It was too much for one girl to deal with.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Julie finished her sorting, threw all her mom’s clothing into the chest, and Luke’s all went under her bed. Whether she dealt with it later or not was not something she would mentally deal with.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Instead, she cleaned her face up and went down to dinner.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Luke hated that his first thought in leaving that awful old hole was the place he died. He hated he was attached to it. Hated it that he followed the guys and stuck with them while they recovered and then they just forgot about him. He hated --</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He did an about-turn, away from the place the couch he died on used to be, and stalked away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had a lot of feelings and most of them were rage. It was hard being a ghost for twenty-five years and watch your family forget about you and erase you from their lives and history.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was just really hard to be so close to being a legend and all of it being ripped away and your supposed friends steal your whole legacy and just let you rot in insignificance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They were supposed to be brothers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Turns out he was the only one who thought so.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With an angry sniff, he left the alley and marched away from what would have been his crowning achievement as a musician. He still wrote. Just nobody saw the songs anymore. He survived what twenty-some-odd years not trusting anyone, what's another twenty more. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He placed a quick hand over his chest as he remembered the song he found. He closed his eyes, thankful, it was still there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And so, the would-be bitter rockstar stalked away from the scene of his death to his hiding spot of precious treasures, never to be seen by any other ghost or living being. To be forgotten like he was.</span>
</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Can I lean on you?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Julie has a long day</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The next day her Aunt Wilie was taking her to the hospital to see her Uncle Willie. Normally, when the Willies’ were together Julie ended up laughing until her stomach hurt and someone ended up covered in something, typically paint or glitter.</p><p>But since the accident, everyone has just been sad. It didn’t help that it was only a couple of days later that her mom left them all for good. But it also didn’t help that Willie had been one of the few people keeping a smile on their faces. Losing him to the coma was hard on all of them, but especially his husband.</p><p>The drive, as it has been for a while now, was quiet. In the beginning, when Julie and Wilie had started this routine, she would always try to make Julie laugh so both their spirits were high when they went into the hospital. But the wear of the months, time, and loss of Rose made it harder and harder to stay cheery. </p><p>Julie hated the drive the most. A part of her wanted to stop it or at least stop going with Wilie because every time she imagines they are visiting her brother, not Wilie’s. </p><p>Dr. Turner said talking would help with the nightmares, but some days Julie felt like she deserved them.</p><p>The walk to the room, oh so familiar and just as painful as the last hundred times, was just as quiet as the drive. Some days, when Julie was missing her mom the most, the walks made her feel like a tornado of negative emotions. When he first got hit by the car, they had asked to put him in the same room as her mom so they could keep each other company. </p><p>He has since been moved to a different room, but it was still in the same area.</p><p>Today, Julie just wanted to cry. Profusely.</p><p>Especially, oh especially, when she walked into the room and saw her exuberant, cheerful, energetic uncle looking as gaunt as he has been since the month after the accident, laying there, only kept alive by tubes and Alex's battles.</p><p>Speaking of her other uncle…Alex had lost so much weight in the past five months that he looked almost as corpse-like as his husband. The shine of his hair was gone and his eyes had completely lost their light. He was barely remembering to eat and hardly ever left Willie’s side unless the doctors kicked him out or his friends convinced him. </p><p>The defeat in his shoulders and dead eyes struck a painful opposite parallel to Fake!Luke’s anger-ridden stance and fire in his eyes.</p><p>She steeled herself from the memory and went straight to hug her uncle. It was only when his arms snaked around her did she realize that she hadn’t been paying attention to what anyone was saying.</p><p>“-seriously, I’m getting tired of the drive, short stack. Wake up already.” And she hit him again. It was practically a ritual at this point. Wilie comes and berates Willie and gives the bed a light smack. And then Alex… </p><p>“Wilina,” Alex scolded. Julie just snuggled closer to him. The routine was old and she was tired of it. Although, Julie, realized with a good inhale, and pulled back a little with a frown.</p><p>“You’ve spent too long at the hospital.”</p><p>Alex stopped weakly glaring at his sister-in-law to owlishly blink down at his niece. “I left last night.”</p><p>“And did what?” Julie just frowned at his gaping face before turning to the sleeping beauty. “I’ll take care of him today, but you have to wake up tomorrow. This is getting ridiculous.” With determination she only felt to hide from her own feelings, she quickly grabbed Alex’s keys, kissed Willie on the forehead, and dragged the older, way too light, man out the door. She heard his protest die before they were even out the door.</p><p>He carefully extracted his hand from hers and pulled her into a side hug as they slowly walked to his car. “What to stop at Jantmase’s?”</p><p>Julie slowed down and squinted at him in suspicion. “For you or…?”</p><p>He gave her a rueful smile. “Think we both might need it.”</p><p>She sighed dramatically. “Well, if <em> that’s </em> your reasoning I guess. But you need a shower first.”</p><p>He snorted and kissed her head before taking the keys from her.</p><hr/><p>The drive to the Williamson-Mercer household was quiet, but not as oppressive as the drive from earlier. It was more comfortable. Relaxed.</p><p>With absent-minded movements that spoke of old habits, they slowly made their way to apartment 103. It was like another home to Julie and she quickly got comfy on the couch as Alex went to shower. However, after a minute of scrolling through social media, she got antsy.</p><p>She knew why don’t get her wrong. But she hated it. Hated <em> him </em> and how wrong he was, but curiosity and boredom will do this to a girl. </p><p>She knew by heart which bookshelf held the photo album containing all the stuff with Luke so locating it wasn’t hard, nor was finding a good picture of him. What was hard was how happy this Luke looked in every photo. It really highlighted how angry and off the one she met last night was. Plus, that fake was wearing sleeves. </p><p>The real Luke never wore sleeves. Only when he was sad or forced to.</p><p>And who would force a ghost to do anything?</p><p>Sitting on the floor, near where her uncles had told her stories and wove tales of Luke Patterson, musical prodigy gone too soon, her heart hurt more than it had ever listening to those stories. For the first time ever, she truly mourned his death. Before it was just a deep sadness, but this felt more like when her mom died. She felt the grief in her bones.</p><p>“He was like an angry puppy,” Alex said, scaring her. Tears in her eyes, she looked up to find him wearing the same bittersweet smiled he always wore when talking about his dead best friend. He reached a hand out and she took it. He pulled her up and then took the album away from her. “I know we said it a lot, but you two would have gotten along. Would have pushed each other to get better, be better. Gosh, he would have loved joining you two in your writing sessions. He always liked writing by himself, but I think it was more because I couldn’t write to save my life, Reg was always more country inclined, and Bobby’s lyrics were always lacking something. But you and Rose? You two were on his level. He would have thrived with you two.”</p><p>“It always felt like he was there with us anyway,” Julie whispered. It felt like a betrayal to say that, but to who she didn’t know.</p><p>“Right,” he said, closing the book and putting it back. “Let’s get some food.”</p><p>“Chocolate smoothies with marshmallows?" She asked, habitually.</p><p>“Chocolate smoothies with marshmallows and a meal." They shared that secret smile that made her feel ten years younger. "I don’t need your dad mad at me for neither of us eating.”</p><p>“Well, if you ate more…” </p><p>He pulled her to him as they walked to the door. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. You are just about as bad as Reggie.”</p><p>“A compliment for sure.”</p><p>“Yeah,” he snorted. “A compliment."</p><hr/><p> “So,” he started, pausing to take a long sip of his shake. “What’s bothering you? We both know what’s bothering me.”</p><p>“Did they really ask again?” Julie deflected.</p><p>“They did. I said no. Again. Now, I’m the adult here and I’m not going to burden you with my issues. You, on the other hand, are my favorite niece. So, spill.”</p><p>“A title I will lord over everyone.”</p><p>“Juliana,” Alex sternly said. </p><p>She shrank in her seat and averted her eyes. The worst part of Alex not being near Willie was that he remembered he was her uncle. At least in the hospital he was less likely to push. “It was just a nightmare. Nothing more.”</p><p>“What about?”</p><p>“…Luke,” she whispered. Picking up her napkin, she started ripping it apart to not look him in the eyes. </p><p>“Ah,” he said, too knowingly for her liking. “What was he like?”</p><p>The question gave her a pause and she looked up at him. His patient stare almost made her burst into tears. It had been so long since they really sat like this and he gave her his full attention. </p><p>So long since she was the focus of all the attention that wasn't because she wasn't singing or mourning or or or. </p><p>Too long since it felt like he cared about her.</p><p>It was no wonder the words wouldn’t stop leaving her mouth. “He was angry. At what I’m not sure but just so angry and upset and he was wearing <em> sleeves, </em> not that they were longer sleeves than a short sleeve but they were sleeves and the whole outfit was so <em> wrong </em> that I didn’t realize who he was right away but he was angry and snarky and it was just so <em> weird </em> and not at all what you described him. And I just. I’m still not sure what the purpose was. It was weird and he was wrong and I just don’t get it.” She threw her arms in the air in frustration before angrily grabbing her shake and angrily started drinking.</p><p>“Hmm. Gotta say that’s an interesting dream,” he said thoughtfully. “Can’t say it's that off about Luke though.”</p><p>“Really?” She interrupted. Shock did not cover the emotion she felt.</p><p>“Yeah,” he admitted sheepishly. He rubbed his neck. “We tended to keep his more negative traits out of the stories. Luke was the kind of person who would bury and hide his anger until it blew up and exploded onto everything and everyone or he would blow up right away. It depended on the issue. Did we ever tell you he ran away from home?”</p><p>“No,” she said, leaning forward. </p><p>Alex sat back, getting comfortable. “Yeah. It was right before Christmas, his last Christmas. He and Emily got into another fight over music and he left. It wasn’t the first time he had done it, but it was the first time he actually stayed away so long. The next time the Patterson’s saw him it was when they had to claim his body.”</p><p>“Oh,” Julie said, shocked. She sat back in her seat and played with her straw. Their food came a little bit later. “Was he angry often?”</p><p>“Nah. Mostly passionate. Like we always said, he was the kind of person to believe something so wholeheartedly it was impossible to tell him no. How Emily did it, we never knew.”</p><p>“Huh,” Julie said, before shaking her head and changing the topic to the school’s latest drama, whether or not the couch and dance teacher were really married or if Susan heard wrong.</p><p>If she focused too much on Fake!Luke being similar to Real Luke she might burst into tears.</p><hr/><p>Later that day, Julie wound up back at the studio. It felt weird to be back after last night, but now she had new thoughts.</p><p>Fake Luke might be Real Luke.</p><p>And she didn’t like that at all. But Alex had given her too much to think about and when she thought about it she hated to think it but well it could be possible. </p><p>The idea of Luke being someone who experienced anger like that was something that never occurred to her. She knew he was passionate, but the music-obsessed kid she was used to in the stories wasn’t really angry.</p><p>Flopping down on the couch, she considered the ramifications of ghosts, before deciding that was just not worth it.</p><p>A sigh caused her to bolt up.</p><p>There he was. Just like last night. Only his outfit looked more put together, and his anger was less fiery.</p><p>“What <em> is it </em> you fucking want?”</p><p>Julie stood straighter and crossed her arms with a glare.</p><p>He mimicked her, just as mockingly as last night. Oh, she was going to give him a piece of her mind.</p>
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